the former steam tramway from Annecy to Thones, France

The Thones terminus.

The metre-gauge, 22 km steam tramway from Annecy to Thônes via the Fier Valley, in the Haute-Savoie was inaugurated on 11 September 1898. Its starting point in Annecy (altitude 448 metres) was very close to the current SNCF train station. The line then headed to the town of Annecy-le-Vieux. It then undertook the Dingy path, a natural route formed by the bed of the Fier, a rushing stream well known for trout fishing, closely following the the road. On every curve of the track appeared famous peaks of the area. Thônes, the terminus at 626 metres altitude, was reached by gradients of the order of 6%.

The locomotives, four in number with two cabs, were from Robatel & Buffaut. The trailer fleet was 10 passenger cars (1st and 2nd class) and for goods traffic the company used 10 flatcars and sided wagons, and 12 boxcars. There were four daily runs in each direction in winter and six in summer. In 1910, this remarkable tourist route was extended to the Col des Arravis, 20 km from Thônes at an altitude of 1,498 metres by a motor service using small Lorraine-Dietrich buses. Then, in 1916, a regular service was established with three Berliet coaches.
 
If there was no electrification project for this line, without doubt it was because the company operated without external subsidy. It had to cease all traffic on 1 May 1930 and its trackage was completely abandoned. Road competition had been felt since 1914 when the Société des Services automobiles des Alpes françaises was formed. For some time company's equipment could be seen on the lines of the Régie des Tramways de l'Ain, to which it was sold. Nowadays, buses serve Thônes and its valley.